


Calm Before the Storm

by Gracia



Series: Forgive The Insubordination [8]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mass Effect 2, Romance, Shepard and Garrus date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 14:43:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3981925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracia/pseuds/Gracia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garrus is stood worrying over Shepard in front of the elevator before their planned date to "blow off steam". He just needs that little nudge from a friend. Shepard reveals her true thoughts about their relationship.</p>
<p>A complete rewrite of Shepard and Garrus awkward first date with fluff and cuteness and a very worried Garrus. Set near the end of Mass Effect 2 before the suicide mission through the relay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Calm Before the Storm

Garrus thought about running. Toyed with the idea. The elevator to the captain’s cabin had never looked quite so… threatening. He would rather have battled Sovereign or Saren three times over than step into its steely mouth and ascend towards Shepard’s room. _Spirits_ , what had he got himself into?

He had played the plans for the night over and over in his head, shooed Tali away when she invaded the battery to pry into his thoughts and was lost. It was like he was a teenager again. He couldn’t work, he couldn’t sleep, he could hardly even breathe.

This was _ridiculous_.

He was a grown turian. A sniper. Nerves weren’t his thing, not on the battlefield, not with the crew and certainly not in difficult situations. Usually. Usually he could hold himself with a calm confidence that would melt ice. But Shepard and that goddamned seductive little smirk… Now _that_ made him nervous.

It wasn’t just that smirk. If it had been that and only that, Garrus would already be on the elevator. Oh no, there was so much more that occupied his mind.

Kaidan. The man Shepard loved. The man had been in the forefront of his mind since he’d riled up Shepard in Horizon. Garrus wasn’t sure he could ever forgive the human for his reckless hurtful words but he knew Shepard could… Shepard would. And then… Maybe they would kindle the embers of their dying relationship. Where would Garrus be then? A soft turian shaped indent in Shepard’s bed? He couldn’t play the part of a jilted lover, nor would he be able to forget Shepard’s lusting gaze. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Shepard could very well crush his heart in a mere nanosecond.

And if _that_ wasn’t enough,  there was the fact Garrus was turian. His family was turian. His father… Spirits, his _father_. What would he say if he knew his son was seriously considering relations with a human? Even if it was one as illustrious as Shepard. To say his family was not particularly fond of humans was an understatement and they hardly liked Garrus at the best of times.

_Failed C-Sec officer, vigilante, gallivanting off with that ship of misfits_ , he recalled his father grumbling over the coms. _And that human Commander of yours. She’ll be the death of you._

Ah yes, then there was the fact that Shepard was human. Garrus had cringed at the vids he’d forced himself to watch, trying to understand human mating rituals and arousal points. The basics remained the same, the basics were something Garrus was always quite proud of but… a human? They were squishy and delicate. He could actually hurt her, make her ill and what if it _was_ a terrible interspecies liaison – What would Shepard think of him then?

Oh yes, and something about a suicide mission.

Garrus groaned out loud and punched the wall next to the lift angrily. This was a terrible idea.

‘Soooo I know you spent a lot of time in the cargo bay of the last _Normandy_ but it is traditional to step in the lift when you call it.’

Garrus was so startled that he brandished the wine bottle at the intruder as he swung round towards the voice. Joker raised an eyebrow at him, tilting his head a little so he could look out from under his cap.

‘I was- eh…’ The excuse dried out before it even formed and Joker limped over to stand beside Garrus, looking at the elevator thoughtfully. ‘Can I help you, Joker?’ The turian asked finally.

‘Actually yes.’ Joker replied brightly. ‘EDI says the ETA to the relay is four hours so since I sort of run this ship while the Commander’s indisposed-‘

‘I’m not sure that’s tr-‘

‘I _order_ you to take that elevator to the captain’s cabin and stop the Commander worrying over her damned reports with what could be the last four hours of her short life. Because you _know_ that’s what she’ll be doing. And I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind if those report went amiss for a little while… You know, till after we dive head first to our deaths.’ He paused for a moment then gave Garrus a sideways glance. ‘Unless you want to leave Shepard to her own reach and flexibility that is, just saying.’

Garrus chuckled, defeated. ‘So you do eavesdrop?’

‘All for the welfare of the crew.’

‘Welfare of the crew my ass.’ Garrus drawled as the elevator doors automatically closed in front of him, proving that he had been standing here too long dwelling on Shepard.

What if Shepard had changed her mind about this blowing off steam thing? What if…

Joker stabbed the elevator button. He pointed at the doors as they slide open without a sound. Garrus took two small steps into the lit elevator as Joker leaned in to stab at the Captain’s cabin.

‘Going up.’ The pilot said with a grin as the doors slid close. Garrus felt his stomach lurch but he was sure it had nothing to do with the elevator rising to Shepard’s room.

 

The huge fish tank built into the back wall gave off a soft pale blue glow. Bathed in that light was Commander Shepard asleep at her desk and surrounded by a half dozen datapads. Her hair was mussed, her lips slightly open, her eyes flitting beneath heavy eyelids. As he stepped a little closer he noticed that most of the datapads were running specs for the ship, double checking – no, _triple_ checking – that they were safe to enter the relay. That the _Normandy_ could withstand the same assault it suffered two years before. He noticed Kaidan’s digital photo frame was slammed face-down on the desk a little way from the sleeping Commander.

She looked so peaceful. He didn’t wish to wake her so instead he placed the gift he bought her (a detailed model of the _Normandy SR-1_ ) next to her on the desk. His mandibles flared in a smile as he turned away. She needed all her strength after all…

_Coward,_ whispered a tiny voice in the back of his mind.

However as he moved, the Normandy made a strange whirring sound that Garrus had never heard it make. Shepard started awake, rubbing at her eyes as she sat up. In a panic, she poked the screen in front of her to bring up the time. Garrus held his breath as Shepard’s gaze drifted to the model next to her. Her lithe fingers picked it up and then she turned around to notice Garrus frozen behind her.

‘Uh- hey, Shepard. I can… I should go.’

He started towards the door at a march but heard Shepard cry out behind him.

‘No. Wait! Don’t go. I’m awak-‘ He looked back to see Shepard yawning deeply as she struggled out from behind her desk. ‘I’m sorry, Garrus. I set alarms to wake me but… I suppose I must have been more exhausted than I thought. And I haven’t even changed-’ The present was still clutched in her tiny hand. The blue light from the fish tank caught her gorgeous blue eyes and she smiled. She was dressed in a loose white t-shirt with an N7 symbol on her leg sleeve and tight fitting black military issue trousers. Her hair was slightly flattened on one side when she had been sleeping on it but in Garrus’ eyes, she looked perfect.

Silence followed Shepard’s words and it took him a moment to remember why he was here, to breathe and that it was customary to answer someone when they spoke. He gestured vaguely at the wine bottle in his talons.

‘I brought wine.’ He placed it delicately on her desk. He noticed her eyes take in his civilian clothing before dancing back up to meet his gaze. Feeling like a pyrak trapped in a Krogan’s glare, Garrus moved over to the control pad and started the music playing. In his head, he had picked the right music – nothing too serious but also sexy – the perfect music to blow off steam. But now as he locked onto Shepard’s beauty, it felt stupidly inadequate. He panicked, searching through the rest of the music until Shepard crossed the space between them to move his hands away from the control panel. Her small fingertips touched the screen and soft piano music sounded through the cabin. It was calm, relaxing and Garrus chuckled.

‘I knew I could count on you, Shepard.’

‘Always got your back. Just like you always have mine.’ She replied with a soft smile. He noticed one of her hands was still perfectly interlocked with his own. ‘I’m nervous too, you know.’

‘You’re a terrible liar, Shepard.’

‘It’s true.’ She replied adamantly. ‘Oh, everyone thinks I’m always perfectly calm but this is just my normal nervous expression. You just _think_ I’m being calm. In reality, I’m _always_ a nervous wreck.’

He could tell from her smile that she was trying to make him feel better. Just like Shepard to do something like that. She leant against the wall a little and looked up at him. ‘You are doing a wonderful job. You didn’t need to spoil me so much with wine and a gift and music…’

‘Terrible music.’ He added and she laughed richly. ‘And I’m not wine connoisseur either.’

‘Well… the gift was nothing to sneeze at.’ Shepard replied, placing the Normandy model box on the desk beside her. ‘Garrus, I need to be straight with you...’

_Here it comes._ Garrus thought, steeling himself for the worst.

‘This blowing off steam. I know I proposed it and I know that soon we might all be dead by tomorrow and none of this will matter and I know this will probably come out horribly forward but…’ She slid her arms around him then and his heart beat double-time. ‘I want this to be more than a one-time thing. You’re my crewmate, squadmate, best-friend, the most badass turian I’ve ever met. It would be remiss of me not to hope that it was more than just easing tension. I respect you more than that. I’m sorry for luring you up under false pretences but I didn’t want to scare you away. I realised it’s only fair you know how I feel and if you want to walk away…’

‘Are you insane?’

She laughed softly. ‘I have been accused of that from time to time. I thought it might be too much to ask, especially since we’re about to go through the relay and-’

‘No, Shepard. That’s not what I meant. I meant “Are you insane to think I would walk away?” Do you think _I_ would be that insane?’

‘I must sound a little pathetic, huh?’

Garrus grinned. ‘I would never call you pathetic. Reckless, yes. Dangerous, definitely. But pathetic? Not a chance.’

‘After what happened on Horizon with Kaidan, I promised myself to not make matters… complicated. With anyone.’ She paused for a moment as though trying to decide whether to continue talking. ‘But with you, everything seems so simple. From the moment I met you, you have stood by my side, no questions asked. Even when I turned up in a Cerberus-marked _Normandy_ you hardly so much as flinched. I appreciate that. More than I could say. So I wanted you to know, whatever happens tomorrow, someone cares about you and appreciates you.’

‘Shepard-‘

‘Anyway, you didn’t come here for such depressing conversation. Let’s open the wine, shall we?’

‘I won’t let you die tomorrow. I’m going to be by your side every step of the way.’ Garrus replied fiercely.

‘Oh? Usually it’s me saving your ass.’

‘That’s what you think, is it?’ He asked with a laugh as Shepard reaching for two wine glasses. She looked back at him and winked.

‘I know it.’


End file.
